Leoven Savel
"When you meet your gods, tell them you stood in my way." Leoven Savel (Born 2498 I.C) was a Bretonnian knight of Bastonne whose skill at arms was widely reputed. He was born at Castle Greencourt to Lord Cadren and Lady Vasillia - their family’s sigil bore a sword before outstretched dragon wings and their words were famous across the duchy; ‘Spurn All But Duty.’ The Savel line was old and proud, and had produced many great knights, but despite all of Leoven's efforts, his life was marred by tragedy. There was little in it that he could call a blessing save for his great love, Lady Serah of house Mertois to whom he was utterly devoted. The years he spent with Serah were the greatest of his life but even such bliss was brought to an end in time. After he lost his love, Leoven was forever changed... Personality and Appearance Leoven was quite tall amongst his people, standing just over six feet, two inches and his body was well built and muscular – the result of many years of discipline. He was reputed for his exceptional strength and his skill at wielding heavy blades with remarkable speed. Leoven’s commitment to his skill at arms was uncommon even amongst the most dedicated knights. Often he would suffer ill-standing with his rivals due to his absence from all things to do with courtly life. He was not considered exceptionally handsome but many remarked that his dark eyes were his most striking feature. The knight’s hair was as dark as his gaze, he kept it short so as not to be a hindrance in combat. He had never much concerned himself with the opinions of others and so was rarely dressed or styled in the latest fashions. During his early years, Leoven was quite an idealist despite having always possessed a somber streak. Although much tragedy had followed him and his family, he had remained ever hopeful he could make for himself the life he desired – that escape from misery was within his grasp, he merely had to endeavor to free himself. This hopeful attitude flourished during the years he spent with his beloved – her own vibrant personality was infectious to the knight. After he lost Lady Serah however, Leoven’s personality and demeanor turned dark. The things that were once important to him no longer interested the knight and those things that had irritated him slightly had earned his most severe scorn. Those who encountered Leoven who knew him before he lost Lady Serah often remarked that the man they had known seemed hardly present in the jaded soul that remained. Vasilia's Passing “Find the happiness I never could." '' ''- ''Vasillia’s final words to Leoven. Leoven was much loved by his mother as a child, but his father had always been a distant, stern man. Cadren had longed for a large family of strong sons who would carry his name with honour but despite Leoven’s being born strong and healthy, Vasilia's next four births were all stillborn sons. These tragedies came to affect Vasilia and Cadren in their own ways - Cadren internalized his turmoil whilst Vasilia spent more and more time locked away in her chambers. Cadren's internalization led to a bitter resentment of his wife, which turned the gentle hearted Vasilia to blaming herself. The succession of four stillborns even led to dark rumors amongst the courts of Bastonne that the Savel line was cursed. As the years passed, the young Leoven's home became sullen and loveless, his father rarely saw the boy or his mother and spent most of his times musing over past heraldry or away on hunts, gone for weeks at a time. Leoven, still young, did all he could to distract himself and do what he thought might gain his father's approval and bring happiness to his mother - which meant tireless lessons at the hands of the castle's swordmaster, Sir Gavic. Gavic was considered somewhat of an eccentric amongst the courts of Bastonne for he had never sired children nor seemed to take any interest in such a thing - he seemed to only care for weapons and other instruments of death. Despite his oddness, he was indeed the region's most foremost Master-at-Arms and served his house with loyalty. Leoven had always been fond of the strange swordmaster, who seemed largely unaffected by the darkness that seemed to now dwell within Castle Greencourt. Gavic taught Leoven well, and in many ways filled the role that Cadren should have. As Leoven entered his thirteenth year, his parent's relationship had disintergrated to almost nothing. They no longer ate at the same table nor even shared a bed. The young boy's friendship with Gavic had grown as had Leoven's skill with a blade - now even able to best boys older than he. Gavic maintained his distance from the cold family relations of the Savels, but gave Leoven much of his time, alotting many more lessons for the boy than any other noble son in the castle. Leoven grew obsessed with his increasing skill, seeing it as his only true distraction from his troubled family - and he thought that Gavic must have seen that also. Leoven had grown to silently resent his father and pity his mother in equal respect. The young boy often tried to reach out to her, but it was as if a piece of her had died with each of her stillborn children - as though her capacity for love had simply seeped away. One night, when Cadren had left once more on one of his hunts, Vasilia came to young Leoven's chambers before he slept, smiling at him from beyond the door, yet there was no joy in it. She looked at him with a loving gaze and spoke the words, "Find the happiness I never could." Leoven stood before his bed, eyeing his mother with a curious stare but Vasilia would not enter. After a moment she took her leave, her steps seemingly lighter as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Leoven was not to know, that that would be the last time he would see his mother alive. That night, she ascended the highest tower of Castle Greencourt and gave herself to the night sky. The news was brought to the boy by Gavic, Leoven's heart was crushed but despite the grief and sorrow that creeped upon his heart, no tears would come. It was not that the boy was cruel, it was that only upon hearing of his mother's suicide that he finally understood she had died along time ago - to weep for her now would be to weep for a ghost. The shade that had become his mother had left him those earnest parting words, and as Leoven sat alone as the night crept by, he resolved to heed those words rather than fall into the same abyss that his mother had. Despite all this though, Leoven's resentment of his father only grew - festering in the boy's heart, sharing a space alongside the pitying love he had for his mother. Knight Errant ''"In swordplay, what decides who lives and who dies? The most skilled? The better equipped? No, it is he who bears the most passion." - Sir Gavic Cadren's Madness Knight of the Realm Sir Leoven Savel - Lord of Castle Greencourt The Rise of House Allemand Lady Serah of House Mertois The Days of Bliss The Darkest Night Questing Knight Theme